A collection of images and other items from Disneyland, theme parks and other amusement parks. Also look for images and items I find interesting, amusing or both.

Monday, April 28, 2008

The Studio Strike of 1941 Part 3

Some more images from the strike at Disney Studios in 1941. Based upon some of the fliers and also the signs, this must have been one of the most colorful strikes in history. (Based upon the comments received from the readers, I have corrected and updated the posting. Thanks everyone!)The first image is of Herb Sorrel who was the leader of the strike. He was a studio painter who was influenced by Australian-American labor organizer Harry Bridges. Herb would later lead the bloodiest strike in Hollywood history with Combined Screen Unions in 1945 and the infamous Black Friday on October 5, 1945 when strikers and Warner Brothers Studio clashed.

The next image is actor and screen writer John Gleason. Best known for his New York characters, being nominated for an Academy Award for playing boxing manager Max "Pop" Corkle in the film Here Comes Mr. Jordan.

I love this image and should have placed it next to the effigy of Gunther Lessing in the guillotine. This is the procession marching the guillotine to its location. I love the dramatic look and feel of this procession.

And to add a little background, a handout from the strikers describing the reason for the strike.

I would like to once again Bob Cowan (rcowan@mywdo.com) for sharing the images with me and my readers. To see more of his collection, head to Didier Ghez's Disney History blog.

That first photo looks like the spittin' image of character actor James Gleason, who played the milk truck driver in the Judy Garland-Robert Walker flick "The Clock", among a bazillion other roles in the 40's and 50's.

I thought the same thing about the first photo being James Gleason; I looked up photos of Harry Bridges, and #1 doesn't look like him at all. Are these photos labeled in the scrapbook? I'm wondering if there were two separate union events in there.

This is not directly related but I'm wondering if you have any information about where I could find the names of the original 17 people who owned the 160 acres that Disney bought in Anaheim n 1953. I'm not having much luck. Thanks for any suggestions.

The comments about Garfild are right on! The writing on the back of the photo says Garfield, but when I did an image search on James Gleason it is obvious that he's the one in the photo. I really appreciate the comments and I'll make the corrections in my database. Thanks, again!--Bob Cowan